[Pharm-policy] Wired on WHA-U.S. Averts AIDS Policy Uproar

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

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Wired

               U.S. Averts AIDS Policy Uproar 
               by Lakshmi Chaudhry 


http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36419,00.html
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36419-2,00.html



The United States delegation to a World Health Organization meeting
averted what could have been a public relations disaster for the Clinton
administration. 

In direct contradiction to stated White House policy, American delegates
to the 53rd World Health Assembly -- the governing body of the WHO --
spent most of this week lobbying against measures that would make it
easier for developing countries to buy generic versions of AIDS drugs.

<SNIP>

The Brazilian amendment would charge the World Health Organization with
constructing a global    database of drug prices, allowing countries to
determine the cheapest medications available. 

<SNIP>

The resolution introduced by Zimbabwe goes a step further. It would
authorize the WHO to actively help developing countries find the least
expensive alternatives. 

"The WHO would not only tell you the best price you can get, but also
the legal and regulatory issues
involved in getting it," said Consumer Technology Project director James
Love. 

Love said most delegations at the meeting, with the exception of the
European Union and the United States, strongly support the two measures.
Although they dropped their opposition Wednesday, however, U.S.
delegates still aren't lending active support, Berman said. 

Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Health Action
International, and various branches of
Act Up, which have sent representatives to Geneva for the meeting, say
U.S. delegates were initially bullying other nations into line. 

"They were strong-arming the countries, trying to get them not to
support the resolutions," Berman said. 

<SNIP>

But the White House softened its stance last week when President Clinton
issued an executive order allowing countries in sub-Saharan Africa to
produce or import generic versions of AIDS drugs. The order was part of
a larger shift in trade policy which no longer prioritizes patent rights
over medical needs, according to White House spokesman Joe Lockhart. 

But the actions of the American delegates at the WHA directly
contradicted the White House position, prompting an immediate response
from AIDS activists. 

"(The) bullying tactics of the U.S. delegates are morally reprehensible
and hypocritical in light of the Clinton administration grandstanding
about access to treatment," Abdul Akim of Act Up Philadelphia said in an
angrily worded press release Wednesday morning.